


thrall (def.): a state of servitude or submission

by RaineyDay



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Major Character Death but the Balance way where they're fine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:35:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29138655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaineyDay/pseuds/RaineyDay
Summary: Day 1 of Febuwhump: Mind Control"They hadn't expected this, when they'd made their devices. They had known that their relics would have a thrall effect, but they had thought that their familiarity with the Light of Creation and their exposure to their objects during the crafting process would immunize them to the effects of their device and each others'.They had been wrong."
Relationships: Barry Bluejeans & The Director | Lucretia, The Director | Lucretia & Everyone, The Director | Lucretia & IPRE Crew | Starblaster Crew
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138502
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	thrall (def.): a state of servitude or submission

**Author's Note:**

> Hello friends! I'm participating in Febuwhump this year, and here's my piece for day 1's prompt "mind control."

Lucretia hadn't expected the design of her relic to be so prophetically symbolic But some days now, it felt like her staff was the only thing still holding her up.

She couldn't rest though. She had to keep looking. Most of the relics weren't active constantly, but they tended to cycle in and out of usage. She didn't know what happened to them in the in-between periods, and she didn't particularly want to.

If the cycles continued as they normally did, then the next one to activate would be Lup's. The Phoenix Fire Gauntlet, as some people on the plane had named it, whispered in both awe and horror. Lucretia had always found the name poetic, but ironic, and very accurate to Lup herself.

The Gauntlet was bad, but it was predictable, and Lucretia appreciated that. The Gauntlet would appear, along wide its Phoenix, and they would find someone to burn to the ground. Often, the person in question would be despicable in some way, but the Phoenix could never seem to keep the anger and flame contained to them alone, and whole cities would burn with them on occasion, often filled with innocents.

The awfulness of each primary target made Lucretia wonder if some part of Lup was still there, within the Phoenix, but she kind of hoped not. Because if Lup was aware of herself, then it would absolutely kill her when she remembered her collateral damage.

It was horrible, that her best case scenario was the brain death of her loved ones, but at least that would mean that they weren't suffering.

Sometimes, she swore that Captain Davenport was still there, but those moments never lasted long before he fell back into fantasy and illusion and his own mind.

They hadn't expected this, when they'd made their devices. They had known that their relics would have a thrall effect, but they had thought that their familiarity with the Light of Creation and their exposure to their objects during the crafting process would immunize them to the effects of their device and each others'.

They had been wrong.

They had put their individual fraction of Light into their objects together, intending it to be a show of solidarity and support.

Instead, it had ensured that none of them were safe from the thrall.

Lucretia knew that she herself was being influenced by the thrall of her Staff, but she had largely been able to retain her sense of self through it. Her device focused on abjuration- protection- and she had already been willing to do just about anything to protect her loved ones and the innocents of this plane, no thrall required. Besides which, her love for her family kept her sane. She needed to protect them most of all, and that focus and goal kept her mind where it was supposed to be.

She had made a list of potential targets for the Phoenix when next she rose, and her Seekers would keep an eye for any sign of trouble, so that she could arrive and do her best to safeguard the innocent civilians surrounding the target.

If she put up enough barriers and shields, then many of them could get out safely, and Lup, if anything was left of her, would know that she hadn't killed everyone. And eventually, the Phoenix would burn herself out, and the fires would die too. Not long after that, Barry would arrive to revive Lup, but the Phoenix would still go dormant for a while afterwards.

It was disconcerting to see Barry now. They had all gotten used to the sight of their liches, but it was more alarming to see him when he was so clearly empty. The Phantom wasn't Barry in the same way that the Phoenix wasn't Lup. And it made him feel wrong to look at.

Still, she was grateful for him. He and his device were the only reason that they weren't dead. Their devices could absolutely wreck through their wielders, and Barry kept it from being permanent.

The other devices tended not to be as lethal as Lup's Gauntlet, but they could be.

Merle was the next most likely to be killed by his device, because his new role as Guardian of Nature left him sowing creation and destruction in equal measure, and sometimes it ripped him apart.

Taako was probably only still alive because of Barry's actions. Every time Lucretia saw or heard about him now, he was different, but one thing remained the same. He was no longer made of flesh and bone, but gemstones or precious minerals or expensive fabrics. Whatever material had caught his fancy recently. It must be Barry's Bell that kept Taako's soul in that ever-changing vessel.

Captain Davenport and Magnus were the only two that hadn't died from their relics, as far as Lucretia knew at least. That didn't mean they weren't still suffering.

Davenport's illusions had not damaged his body, but they did seem to have dragged his mind somewhere else. He didn't seem to be aware of anything around him. She supposed the upside to that was that his device was no longer hurting anyone else.

Lucretia had been brought back by Barry a time or two as well. Her Staff didn't often hurt her very much, but it did put a strain on her body and mind, and sometimes she simply collapsed from it. The first time, she had thought that was it. She had failed her friends and this plane.

But then Barry had arrived- the Phantom had arrived, but he looked so much like Barry in that moment, smiling warmly at her and extending his hand to help her stand. He'd asked if she'd like to continue living.

She hadn't been sure that the truthful answer was 'yes', but she'd given it anyway. She had no other choice.

It had been easier when she'd had Magnus to help her. They had founded the Bureau together, sought solutions to save their friends and protect this plane at the same time, and she'd had a lot more hope of success then.

He'd resisted the thrall of his device at first- the only one of them who had managed that feat. He'd told her that the Chalice had offered the chance to go back and change the past, but he'd been unwilling to do so, as it would cause him to lose his relationships with them- his new family- and it would mean he couldn't have saved all the planes that they'd helped along the way.

That initial rejection had saved him from being thralled, but the Chalice had still whispered to him that he could use it to save the rest of them from their devices. It had tempted him often, and Lucretia was very proud of how long he'd held out against it.

But then, he'd fallen in love with a woman who had joined their Bureau, and he married her, and then, she took him to visit her hometown, and they hadn't come back. And that had been the straw that broke Magnus' back. She hadn't seen him since, but she knew that the Chalice had been activated.

Apparently, the full force of the six remaining devices united against one man as they had been against Governor Kalen was terrifying to behold, but Lucretia had no active memory of it, and couldn't confirm, but she did know that the place where Kalen had died no longer existed, completely obliterated by the force of their combined assault.

Her Bureau didn't know the full story of the devices, but they knew that the people wielding them were not acting of their own free will. It had been important to Lucretia that they know that, because it would kill her if either her friends or her employees got hurt because they got into conflict with each other.

As she laid her head down to sleep, her Staff slipped from her fingers, but it didn't go far. It couldn't do so while still exerting influence over her, so neither of them would let it.

She felt her mind drifting away, and didn't realize where it was drifting until she opened her eyes to see Barry smiling at her.

"Hi, Lucy," he greeted, voice warm and inviting.

She nearly sobbed at the greeting. It had been so long since anyone called her that. Her employees were kind and they respected her, but they didn't really treat her as an equal. And she was so used to being the whole crew's baby sister, that the role reversal was even more isolating.

"Would you like to live again?" Barry asked, coming close to her and grabbing her hand.

She nodded, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. He held on just as tightly to her.

"No exchange needed, of course. Family discount," Barry's voice chuckled into her ear. His body rumbled with his laughter, and it put her at ease.

"I miss you," Lucretia said. She generally tried not to think about that, because it would kill her to think about it too often. But she missed her family so much.

"I'm right here," Barry responded.

"Are you?" Lucretia wondered. It was hard, to see him like this. Because either he was really here and himself, which meant that all of them had retained some sense of self through this and were therefore suffering, or it meant that the Phantom was manipulating her by using the image of a member of her family, and that would mean that her family was truly gone entirely.

There were no good options, and Lucretia was tired of it.

She stayed like that for a long time, breathing in the presence of someone she could at least pretend was family, until Barry pulled back gently.

"It's almost morning. Time for you to get up," he said.

"Okay," she said, voice breaking only a little.

"You got this, Lucy. It's not the first time you've been alone remember?" Barry said, with a sudden intensity that she hadn't seen from the Phantom before. "We're countin' on you again. I trust you."

Lucretia woke with tears on her face, but her body felt lighter than it had in a long time.

She left her room quickly, and got back to work.


End file.
